knight



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. H. KNIGHT.' Snow and Earth Exoa vatork No. 241,673. Patented May17,1881.

. "Java-a j WITNESSES: I INVENTOR, Cg BY ATTORNEYS.

n rnzns Pholwulha gmphur. Wnhingmn. b. a

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Snow and Earth Excavator.

No. 241,673. Patented May 17,188].

llllll wxzrfinssss: INVENTOR:

7 BY LX/(X/{AAM gTORNEYS.

N. PETERS. Fholo-Lilhvwnpher, via-magma. 17.6.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. KNIGHT, OF QUEBEC, PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, CANADA.

SNOW AND EARTH EXCAVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 241,673, dated May 17,1881.-

Application filed December 23, 1880 (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that LWILLIAM HENRY KNIGHT, of the city, county, and Provinceof Quebec, and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Snow and Earth Excavators, of which the following is aspecification. I I

Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a sectional side elevation of the improvement online as x of Fig. 4. Fig. 2, Sheet 1, is a sectional plan view takenthrough the line :0 00, Fig. 1. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is aside elevation.Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is a sectional end elevation on line y y of Fig. 1.Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is a side elevation of one of the subsidiaryplow-plates, showing the inner surface. Fig. 6, Sheet 2, is a sectionalelevation of one of the buckets.

The object of this invention is to furnish machines designed especiallyfor excavating snow and earth upon lines of railway in course ofconstruction or completed, but which may be used with advantage inexcavating for other w purposes.

The invention consists in the combination, with the carriage, of i thejournaled frame, the chain-wheels, and endless chain of buckets havingdrop-backs, and the inclined dischargeplates, whereby snow and earth canbe taken up in front of the carriage and discharged at its sides;also,:in the combination, with the buckets and their drop-backs, of thespringlatches and the trip-plates, whereby the dropbacks will bereleased automaticallyto discharge the contents of the buckets also, inthe combination, with the elevator-frame, of the inclined plates andtheir adjustin g-screwand nut bar, whereby the inclined plates can beadjust ed higher or lower to discharge the contents of the bucketsfarther from or closer to the sides of the carriage; also, in thecombination, with the inclined. dischargeplates, of adjustable plates,whereby the contents of the buckets can be discharged at either or bothsides of the carriage; and also, in the combination, with the carriagehaving flanges upon its sides, of the adjustable hinged plates havingflanges, whereby the said hinged plates can be adjusted for use as asnow-plow, as will be hereinafter fully described.

A represents the carriage, which is mounted uponwheels- B, twoof whichare made large to serve as drive-wheels.

To the axle G of the drive-wheels B are attached cranks I), with whicharerdetachably connected by rods N the rear ends of the piston-rods E ofthe steam-cylinders F. The piston-rods E project through both heads ofthe cylinders F, and their forward ends are detachably connected by rods0 with cranks G, I

attached to the ends of the shaft H. The shaft H revolves in tubularbearings I, attached to.

the sides of the carriage A, and the inner ends of the said bearingsserve as pivots to carry the frame J of the elevator.

To the shaft H, at the inner ends of the bearings I, are attached wheelsor tumblers K, around which pass endless chains L. The endless chainsLalso pass around chain-wheels M, pivoted to the upper parts of theelevator-frame J. The chain-wheels K M are made withfour (more or less)faces, the said faces being made to correspond in length with the lengthof the links of the endless chains L.

To the alternate links of the endless chains L, or at any desireddistance apart, are attached buckets P, the forward edges of the frontsof which project to take up the material to be excavated. The backs Q ofthe buckets P are separate, and are hinged at their forward edges to theforward ends of the links of the endless chains L, to which the bucketsP are attached, or to rods connecting the said ends. The hinged back Qof each bucket P is held in place while the said bucket is being filledand carried up the elevator by a latch or bail, B, the ends of which arebent into crank form, pass through slots in the end parts of the bottomof the bucket P, andare pivoted to the ends of the said bucket, sothatthe said latch R canbe swung forward beneath the lower end of the hingedback Q, and swung back to allow the said back Q to drop and dischargethe contents of the bucket. The latch R is held forward to engage withthe back Q and hold it in place by a spring, S, attached to the. bottomof the bucketP. The latchRis pressed back out of the way of the back Qwhen the said back Q is raised into place by a cam or inclined block, T,attached to the inner side of the rear part of the said back Q. Thelatch R is pushed back to release the hinged back Q by theoutwardly-inclined rear upper corners. of the plates U, attachedto thepivots of the upper chain-wheels, A, or to the rear plate, V,

and the front plate, W, of the elevator. The upper end of the rearplate, V, is curved outward and extended into such a position as toraise the backs Q of the buckets 1? into place as the said buckets arecarried over the said end, so that the said backs will be caught andheld by the spring-latches It. The ends of the backs Q are cut away, asshown in Fig. 6, to

form openings for the passage of the edges of the trip-plates U, whichopenings are covered by arched caps X, attached to the sides of thebuckets P. With this construction, as the buckets P pass over the upperchain-wheels, M, the backs Q are tripped and the contents of the saidbuckets I? drop into the interior of the elevator, fall upon theinclined plates Y, slide down the said inclined plates Y, and aredischarged at the sides of the carriage A. The upper edges of the platesY meet in the center of the elevator, so that the contents of thebuckets P will be divided,part being discharged at each side of thecarriage. The rear and front plates, V W, prevent the material beingdischarged from passing off at the side edges of the plates Y, and inconnection with the said plates Yform discharge spouts or chutes.

Upon the upper side of each of the inclined plates Y is placed a slidingplate, Z, which is slotted longitudinally to receive the clampingbolt a,by which the said plate is secured to the plate Y. With thisconstruction, by sliding one or the other of the inclined plates Zupward, the materialcan be discharged at one or the other side of thecarriage, as may be desired.

To the lower sides of the inclined plates Y are attached the ends of across-bar, b, to the center of which is swiveled the upper end of ascrew, 0. The screw 0 passes through a screw-hole in a bar, (I, the endsof which are attached to the elevator-frame J, so that the inclinedplates or chutes Y can be raised and lowered by turning the screw 0 tocause the contents of the buckets to be discharged farther from orcloser to the sides of the carriage, as may be required.

To the screw 0 is attached a hand-wheel, e, for convenience in turningthe said screw.

To the sides of the upper part of the elevator-frame J are pivoted theupper ends of two bars, f, to the sides of the lower ends of which arepivoted small wheels or rollers g, which are placed in grooves orchannels h, formed in the sides of the carriage A or in bars or platesattached to the said sides.

To the bars f, at a little distance from their rear ends, are attachedthe ends of cords or chains 1', which pass around pulleys j, pivoted tothe sides of the forward part of the carriage A, and around pulleys k,attached to the ends of the crank-shaft l. The crank-shaftl works inbearings attached to the upper rear part of the sides of the carriage A.With this construction, by turning the crank l, the elevator J can beadjusted into a vertical position, as shown in Figs. 1 3, and 4, orinclined forward or rearward, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig.3, ascircumstances may require.

In using the machine upon high banks or drifts or in deep cuttings, itis designed to remove the upper part of the bank or drift first, so thatthere can be no burrowing, and consequently no caving in of the bank ordrift to injure the workmen or the machine.

To the axle O of the drive-wheels B is journaled the rear end of aframe,m, which extends forward and has a shaft, a, pivoted to its forward end.The shaft n is driven by a band. 0, which passes around a pulley, 19,attached to the axle G, and around a pulley, q, attached to the shaftn,- or shaft a may be driven by beveled gearing.

To the shaft n are also attached two brushes, 4", of metal or othersuitable material, which project through slots in the bottom of thecarriage A, so as to brush off the rails in front of the drive-wheels B.The brushes 0 are held down to their work by the weight of the frame mor by weights attached to the said frame m. The brushes 0' can beadjusted to bear with more or less force against the rails by placingblocks beneath the frame m or by other suitable means.

When the machine is being moved from place to place the piston-rods Eare disconnected from the driving-cranks G of the elevator, and when themachine is at work the piston-rods E are diseon nected from the cranks Dof the drivewheels, and the machine is fed forward by extraneous power;or the drive-wheels are provided with graduated gear-wheels, so that themachine can be fed forward as the buckets cut their way into the bank ordrift.

When the machine is at work in gravel or other hard substance theforward sides of the buckets Pshould have serrated steel plates attachedto them to receive the wear.

If desired, the bars f can be operated to ad just the elevator by racksand pinions in place of the cords an d pulleys hereinbefore described,

or by other suitable means. In either'case the adjusting mechanismshould be provided with pawls and ratchet-wheels or other suitable Imeans for holding the elevator securely in place when adjusted.

To the upper and lower parts of each outer side of the forward part ofthe carriageA are attached two flanges, s t, to receive the flanges a o,attached to or formed upon the upper and lower parts of the inner sidesof the plates w 00, which plates are hinged to each other at theiradjacent edges, as shown in Fig. 5. The lower flange, o, of the hingedplates w w rests upon small wheels or rollers y, pivoted in slots in theflange t, so that the said plates was can'be easily moved out and in.The edges of the lower flange, o, of the hinged plates w w are bentdownward to overlap the inner sides of the rollers or wheels y, to keepthe said plates in place. With this construction, by drawing the forwardends of the sides of the carriage A, the

forward plates, to, can be swung inward until their forward edges meetat an angle, and can then be securedto each other by hooks z or othersuitable means. With this construction the plates to 00 form a veryefficient snow-plow for removing snow of moderate depth from arailway-track.

In the flanges s t and u o are formed holes to receive pins 1, forsecurin g the plates 20 w in place when in either position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. In an excavator, the combination, with the frameA, provided with the grooves or channels h, of the jonrnaled frame J,the bars f, provided With the rollers g, the pnlleysj 7c, and the ropeorband i, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an excavator,the combination, with the frame A, the adjustablejournaled frame J, and the piston-rodsE of the steam-cylinders, of theendless chain of buckets I, the chain-wheels K M, the crank-shaft G H,and the connecting- ;od 0, substantially as and for the purpose setorth.

3. In an excavator, the combination, with the buckets P and the endlesschain L, of the back Q, latch R, the spring S, and the trip-plate U,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In an excavator, the combination, with the elevator-frame J, of theinclined plates Y, the swiveled screw 0, and the nut-bar d,substantially as herein shown and described, whereby the inclined platescan be adjusted to discharge the contents of the buckets farther from orcloser to the sides of the carriage, as set forth.

5. In an excavator, the combination, with the inclined discharge-platesY, of the adjustable plates Z, substantially as herein shown anddescribed, whereby the contents of the buckets can be discharged ateither or both sides of the carriage, as set forth.

6. In an excavator, the combination, with the carriage A, having flangess t, of the adjustable hinged plates 10 00, having flanges u v,substantially as herein shown and described, whereby the said hingedplates can be adjusted for use as a snow-plow, as set forth.

WILLIAM HENRY KNIGHT.

Witnesses JOHN H. THORN, FRANK G. AUSTIN.

